Receiver Chris Boyd did not play for Vanderbilt last season but expects to continue playing in the NFL. / Jae S. Lee / File / The Tennessean

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CHRIS BOYD FILE

School: Vanderbilt. Plus: Has an NFL body, with great size (6-4½, 210) and speed (expects to run in 4.4-seconds range in 40-yard dash). He hauled in 81 passes for 1,247 yards and 13 touchdowns in two seasons with the Commodores. Minus: Played two college seasons and sat out all of the 2013 season after being dismissed from the football team in September. Off-field issue: In September, Boyd pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor accessory charge in the rape investigation that resulted in the arrest of four of Boyd’s former teammates on sexual battery charges. As part of his plea deal, he agreed to assist prosecutors with the case after the prosecution alleged Boyd “was not completely truthful with the police” concerning conversations he had had with the accused players. What’s next: Boyd will attend the NFL Combine in Indianapolis next week, where he’ll meet with team coaches and officials, and take part in speed, strength and agility drills. He’s expected to be selected in the May 8-10 NFL Draft. —Jim Wyatt

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Chris Boyd knows he can’t change the past, so he’s spent the last six months working on his future.

The former Vanderbilt receiver, who was dismissed from the team for his after-the-fact involvement in an alleged rape, hopes to prove he’s not the villain some might think. He also wants to show he’s ready for the NFL despite sitting out the entire 2013 season.

He’ll face a discerning audience next week at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

“I was raised to be polite and have manners. If I just be myself, I think people will understand that I am a good guy, I come from a good family, and I mean well,” Boyd said. “I would never want to hurt anybody or do anything harmful to anyone. I think once people get to know me and spend some time around me, it will be pretty obvious. I’m not a bad guy.”

How well Boyd sells himself to NFL scouts, coaches and executives figures to be even more important than how he performs in speed, strength and agility drills at the Combine. His football-playing future could depend on it.

In the wake of a scandal that resulted in four teammates being arrested on charges of aggravated rape, Boyd disappeared from the public eye following a September court appearance. He finished classes at Vanderbilt and has been training in Dallas in preparation for the NFL Draft on May 8-10.

Boyd said he’s in great shape and feels re-energized and motivated. One NFL draft expert said the 6-foot-4½, 210-pounder could greatly improve his draft stock with a good showing in Indianapolis. Yet he also should expect to be “grilled hard” about what took place in a Vanderbilt dorm last summer, a former NFL scout said.

In an interview with The Tennessean, Boyd declined to discuss the specifics of the case. His agent cited restrictions because it’s an ongoing legal matter.

Boyd, 22, entered a conditional guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge for his role in attempting to cover up the alleged crimes. In September, Boyd was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days of probation and, as part of his plea, he agreed to testify against the others.

Boyd said he’s prepared to speak honestly with NFL teams.

“I know the questions are coming,” he said. “And I am ready to tell my side of what happened, and it will clear up a lot of the misconceptions about what really did happen. I know everyone is going to want to know about it, and I understand that.”

The tough questions

In his two seasons at Vanderbilt, Boyd racked up 81 catches for 1,247 yards and 13 touchdowns. He joined Jordan Matthews to form one of the SEC’s most potent receiving tandems and was on the 2013 Biletnikoff Watch list.

After his dismissal from the team, Boyd opted to remain at Vanderbilt to finish his academic work instead of transferring to another school. He has only to complete a 14-hour internship to earn his degree.

Since December, Boyd has been training at the Michael Johnson Performance Center in Dallas, working on the kinds of drills he’ll take part in at the Combine. He’s also taken interview lessons to prepare for the barrage of questions.

Russ Lande, a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and former scouting administrator for the St. Louis Rams, said he thinks Boyd is a third-round pick at best, but could go undrafted.

“If he can’t clear it up 100 percent to where teams have no doubts he was not involved in anything in any shape or form, a lot of teams will boot him right off the board,” said Lande, now college scouting director for the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes. “Because any offense with women, a lot of teams view that as one where they won’t go down that road. …

“If it turns out it was after the fact and he really wasn’t involved in the incident and he was just trying to help a friend avoid getting into trouble, then maybe teams will give him the benefit of the doubt.”

At Boyd’s plea hearing, Deputy District Attorney General Tom Thurman read details in court that indicated Boyd and two others helped move an unconscious 21-year-old woman from a hallway back into a dorm room after she had been raped.

Authorities said Boyd advised one of his former teammates allegedly involved in the rape to delete video evidence and tell no one what happened. Boyd’s attorney, Roger May, said his client was forced into a situation he did not fully understand and he learned a “painful lesson.”

Agent Chris Turnage, who represents Boyd, said he’s heard “anything from the third to fifth round” regarding his client’s draft stock. Everyone in Boyd’s camp is looking forward to the interview process at the combine, he said.

“Sometimes people read what’s in the media and they get a perception of the kid and it is not necessarily the case, and I think that is the case here. … They automatically assume Chris is a bad guy, and he’s not. He’s a great kid,” Turnage said. “I don’t think there’s a team out there that, after they talk to Chris, would think he is a bad guy or would feel uncomfortable drafting him or feel uncomfortable having him on their team, and I firmly believe that.”

Missing out on football

Boyd still considers himself a “Vandy guy.” Four other former Commodores will join him at the Combine: Matthews, offensive lineman Wesley Johnson and defensive backs Andre Hal and Kenny Ladler.

Boyd is coming off his first fall away from football since he was in seventh grade. He attended Vanderbilt’s game against Austin Peay in September, wearing street clothes and sitting in the stands, but because of the attention he attracted he decided to stay away the rest of the season.

“The toughest part was the Saturdays during the season, sitting in my room at Vanderbilt watching the games … and not being able to be there,” he said. “It was a tough time, but I got through it because of the support I received.”

Lande said he wouldn’t be surprised if Boyd outperforms Matthews, an All-America receiver and the SEC’s all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards, in drills at the Combine.

“I’ve heard he’s one of those guys who could come out of nowhere to become a high draft pick,” Lande said, “maybe get into the second- or third-round area.”

Boyd is taking nothing for granted.

“Everything that’s happened, it made me realize how quickly things can be taken away. It made me hungrier, and made me appreciate football a lot more. I want to show people I haven’t been sitting on my butt, that I have been working hard, and had my mind on this,” Boyd said. “I think I can help teams on the field and off the field. I am definitely capable of going to the NFL and making plays.

“But I’m also a good guy, and a good teammate. … Now I just need a chance. This has always been a goal of mine, and I am still chasing it.”